(sniff sniff)

I love you guys.

In just under 48 hours, I have received not the 5 reviews asked for, but 8! That's the most reviews for a single chapter I've gotten for any of my stories ever! All you people are awesome!

Now I'll answer them.

To spartan585- thank you! I try… and I don't think I'll be "disheartened" (nice word, btw) by lack of reviews anymore!

To K-Flyer- will I reunite the old team? Well, you'll see… (cough) yes (cough) who said that?

To lilswmr427- whoops… forgot about that :D. I'll make sure to explain that soon.

To emotionalpoemgirl- thanx! I was actually surprised that this idea hadn't been used before… to my knowledge, at least.

To Chico Magnifico- haha, I hate them too. Maybe I'll kill them off sometime… but thank you. Epicness is what I strive for, and I hope this chapter continues to please.

To FallingDarkAngel- thanks. I love your story "High School Changes", btw! Lol. Seriously, everyone needs to read that story. It's flippin' awesome.

To Mariabelle- I dunno, I has is a gramaticle and spellerific way of riting. That's a joke.

And you like it when I reply like… THIS?

To Gingerstorm 101- is this soon enough? Lol

Whew, that's almost a page of replies. Thanks again, and I hope you like…

CHAPTER THREE!

Enjoy…

Even with the amber emergency lights, the tunnel was incredibly dark. Not to mention bad-smelling.

Raven leaned up against the filthy wall and tried to catch her breath. After Beast Boy had got them into the sewers they had ran for miles underneath the city, taking random turns and occasionally leaping over the disgusting river in the center to confuse their hunters. But there was absolutely no sign of being pursued. They had eventually stopped because they had no choice.

They had nothing to provide better light, but they had managed to detach the heavy claw from Raven's torso. There was a mild burn where it had touched, but no damage aside. It still stung like hell, though.

"Are you okay, Gar?" Raven asked, eyes closed.

"…Yeah, I'm fine," Beast Boy said, but it wasn't convincing.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked seriously, opening her eyes and resting a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. She could only see his hunched silhouette as he leaned against the wall, so she couldn't tell what was up.

"Please… don't touch my shoulder,' he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Why not…?" Raven pulled her hand away to notice it was wet and dark.

"You've been shot!" She shouted, staring at him in shock. "Why didn't you tell me? We could've stopped running sooner!"

Beast Boy shifted, and Raven could see his bright smile through the shadows.

"It's not bad; the bullets went right through, and it's not bleeding too much. And I had to make sure you were safe."

For a moment Raven couldn't decide whether to hug or smack him, so she did neither.

"Well, even if it's not bad, we need to get you treated," she eventually said. "Got any ideas?"

"I'm surprised you don't. What's the best medical setup in the city, with the best security, and is really close by?"

"Titans Tower?" Raven sighed. "I don't want to drag Vic and Karen into this mess."

"Me neither, but I don't think we can afford not to. Let's head out."

It was slow going. Carrying Raven had eventually made Beast Boy's wounds so tender that he could barely move his whole right side. Raven supported him the best she could while she checked their route on her communicator, which she always kept with her. She was thankful for that now.

The communicators were different then they had been. After the Brotherhood of Evil madness, every communicator had been destroyed, so Robin and Cyborg had designed new ones. These were about the same size and shape as an iPhone, colored silver with a blue double T logo on the back. Raven would have called the Tower first, but she was afraid to send out a signal, for she was certain the government was watching for one.

After a while they reached a ladder climbing up into darkness. The arrow on the screen of Raven's communicator pointed up them.

Raven gingerly laid Beast Boy down by the bottom of the rungs, much to his protest.

"I'll go up," he insisted. "It's you they're hunting."

"And you can't climb," Raven reminded him. "I'll be fine."

Beast Boy eventually nodded. "Just be careful. You can't cast shields anymore."

"I realized," muttered Raven to herself as she rubbed her burn absentmindedly. She gave Beast Boy a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be right back. Stay put."

She climbed up.

It took a surprisingly long time, trying to move so her burn wouldn't be disturbed, but she eventually made it to the cover. Pushing it up with her one hand just far enough for her eyes to see out, she peered around. No one seemed to be on the island.

As quickly as possible she climbed up onto the rocks, put the cover back down behind her and sprinted for the tower. She threw herself up against the wall and looked around breathlessly. Still no soldiers, just the sound of the waves crashing up against the shore.

Slowly turning around, Raven faced the door and punched an incredibly long code into the small keypad. There was a ticking noise, and a light flashed green. The door slid open and Raven let herself in.

The Tower was different than she remembered. It was a bit less modern and more… homey. There were different pictures on the walls, comfortable furniture, and assorted lamps. It was odd: it was almost as alien to Raven as the time Mother Mae-Eye had turned the place into a gingerbread house. But not quite.

She walked down the main hallway, footsteps echoing, and wished that she could still sense people. Thanks to the claw, she now couldn't, but it shouldn't be too hard to find them, right?

Raven walked through a pressure laser right above the floor and alarms went off. Spinning sirens extended from the walls, and several machine guns spun out from the ceiling and locked on to her.

"What is this crap?" Raven muttered. A separate cannon shot a net at her, which hit her square on and pinned her to the ground. Her face was pressed into the carpet.

After a short while a set of footsteps came tapping down the stairs and up to her. There was a click of a button and the net fell to pieces. Raven sat up, rubbing her burn, to see Bumblebee standing there, a confused and worried look on her face.

"What's up, Rachael?"

Raven winced as she ran her hands over a tender part of the burn and looked into Bumblebee's eyes.

"Garfield's hurt, Karen. And we've got even bigger problems."

(…)

A few minutes later they were all in the living room, Raven in a chair, Beast Boy laying on a couch, and Bumblebee standing before them. Raven's torso and arms were wrapped in bandages, and Beast Boy's right arm was in a sling.

Bumblebee's eyes had widened as they had told their story until Raven was convinced they were going to pop right out of her head and roll around on the floor. When they finished a lethal glare was on Bee's face.

"The government is trying to kill Emily?" she growled. "Those bastards. You did a good thing coming here, honey, we'll take care of you."

"I don't want to drag you into this crappy mess," Raven admitted. "I mean, Vic isn't really looked upon with favor by the capitol anyway, and neither are you, posing as Blood's pawn for so long. Thank you for the help and all, but we really should go."

Bumblebee shook her head. "I'll have none of that around here. No jerks in suits gonna hunt my friend."

Raven smiled a bit. "I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that."

"Hey…" Beast Boy cut in quietly. "Where is Victor, anyway?"

"Probably out at the gym," Bumblebee explained. "He goes there early every morning. I gave him a call to come back when Raven tripped the alarm; he should be here soon."

As if on cue, the garage door opened way down at the bottom of the tower, and they could soon hear Cyborg's heavy footsteps as he tromped up the stairs.

The door slid open and there he was.

"What's up, Karen, what's going…?" he began, but spotted Beast Boy and Raven all wrapped up on the chairs and couch. "Whoa, what happened?"

So they went through the whole thing again. Cyborg's face got angrier and angrier the more he heard.

"Jerks," he hissed, slamming a giant hand on the table. "This is going way too far."

"But what can we really do?" Beast Boy asked, leaning against Raven. They had moved to the same couch, while Cy and Bee lounged in the armchairs.

Everyone was silent, pondering.

"They're the United States Government!" Beast Boy continued, emphasizing each word. "If the system backs them, they can do whatever they want!"

"There's no way the people will stand for something like this," Bumblebee pointed out.

"True, but they probably will never know," Raven said grimly. "All the military will say is that we're a threat to national security. We'll be reduced to terrorists."

"Heck, the dude said Global Security," Beast Boy said. "Everyone and anyone will be searching for us, wanting us behind bars."

"Sorry that it is probably us now," Raven said sadly. "All of us."

Bumblebee waved a hand. "There's no problem. We're just helping out a few friends."

Cyborg nodded. "Each of you guys has saved our butts countless times. This is the least we can do."

"Thank you," Raven said. She felt sick that she had just probably made her friends enemies of the state, but she was relieved at the same time. With more people, what they had to accomplish seemed a bit less daunting.

But only a bit.

(…)

The agent in white walked through the circle of Hummers and Jeeps in the early afternoon sun, raising a hand to shield his eyes even as he wore sunglasses.

Soldiers were everywhere, cleaning their guns, doing drills, playing baseball, and numerous other games. It was hard to keep track of everything going on within the shifting, uniformed mass.

At the very back of the camp was a special order vehicle, part Hummer, part Tank, part RV. An awning was extended to provide shade, and beneath it sat a tall, thin, man in a lawn chair, sipping a cup of coffee. Nodding to the burly guards stationed on either side, the man in the suit walked up to his leader and stood before him at attention.

"At ease," said a soft voice. The man relaxed.

"How did it go?' asked the tall man. He wore a black suit, and had short, militarily cut silver hair. His eyes were dark but twinkling, and a hard, sarcastic smile played at the corner of his lips.

"Not so well, sir," muttered the agent, hanging his head. "They escaped into the sewers, and we were unequipped to follow."

The man with the silver hair clapped once or twice. "Very impressive on their part, kudos to them." He noticed his underling's defeated expression. "Don't be bummed!" the man exclaimed. "We're going after the Teen Titans, aren't we? I can't say that I'm surprised that they escaped."

"But where to, sir?" asked the agent. "We have no way of tracking them now."

"Oh, don't think tracking," said the black-suited man. "Tracking is too limited. Try reasoning; where would two injured Titans go when their country's against them and they desperately need help and a secure place to regroup?"

The agent shook his head slightly, looking confused.

The man in black leaned forward, lips curling into a confident grin. "Titans Tower."

Alright, you can say it: I am the king of dramatic chapter ends, admit it.

Well, anywayz, on the topic of reviews… I'm gonna set the bar at 7. That way if everyone who reviewed this time reviews again, we'll already be over the top and I can release Chap. 4! And man, if you liked Chap. 2 you'll love the next one…

Peace out, homeez!

Lol

…

BAM! TOMAHAWKED!